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PATHFINDER REVIEW: GameMastery Chase Deck & Condition Cards Deck
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<blockquote data-quote="Steel_Wind" data-source="post: 7647609" data-attributes="member: 20741"><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">I don’t know about you, but whenever I hear the word “card” mixed in with the term RPG in the same sentence, I immediately gain the “suspicious” condition. I’m generally extremely wary and have a default-starting attitude of <em>Unfriendly</em> -- if not outright <em>Hostile</em> -- to the idea of blending collectible cards with any aspect of my RPG play. That said, I am extremely interested in ALL game accessories that enhance my tabletop RPGs. Things like <a href="http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/l/litkoAerosystems/fantasy/v5748btpy8ded" target="_blank">invisible character minis</a>, <a href="http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/l/litkoAerosystems/fantasy/v5748btpy8dec" target="_blank">torchbearer clip-ons</a> to mini bases, <a href="http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/l/litkoAerosystems/fantasy/v5748btpy8fl2" target="_blank">flight stands</a> and the like for use with miniatures during play I consider Cool Gaming Stuff<strong>™</strong>. In addition, the relatively low cost of card decks makes the purchase of these decks an inexpensive way to scratch the itch to buy something in my local FLGS. Consequently, I look at new card decks released by Paizo often – but I tend not to buy all of them. When you get right down to it, I’m damned <em>picky</em> when it comes to the use of cards in our game sessions.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">I have had good experiences with some of Paizo’s card decks. In particular, I generally have enjoyed card decks that introduce new options for play like the GameMastery <a href="http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/p/paizoPublishingLLC/gameMastery/itemPacks/v5748btpy8b8m" target="_blank"><em>Plot Twist Card Deck</em></a>. Admittedly, our group’s use of the <em>Plot Twist Card Deck</em> has been irregular, but we <em>mostly</em> like this card deck. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">We have embraced the <a href="http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/p/paizoPublishingLLC/gameMastery/itemPacks/v5748btpy872f" target="_blank"><em>Critical Hit</em></a> and <a href="http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/p/paizoPublishingLLC/gameMastery/itemPacks/v5748btpy89mn" target="_blank"><em>Critical Fumble</em></a> card decks for regular use in our weekly <em>Kingmaker</em> and <em>Legacy of Fire</em> games and all of the players at the table enjoy them a lot.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">While the <em>Critical Hit</em> and <em>Critical Fumble</em> decks have been out for a long time, the subject of this review is two new card decks recently released by Paizo that present new options for use at the table without introducing any new rules: GameMastery <em>Condition Cards</em> (released this past spring) and GameMastery <em>Chase Cards, </em>released last month. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"><strong></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"><strong>GameMastery Chase Cards Deck</strong></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">[align=right][/align]</span>[align=right][/align]</span>[align=right]http://www.enworld.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=55778&d=1356545309[/align]<span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">Before there was <em>Dungeons and Dragons</em>, there were chase scenes. Chases have been staples in cinemas for nearly a hundred years. Going back to <em>Birth of a Nation</em> and more famously, <em>Stagecoach</em>, Hollywood has been serving up chases for as long as the theatre has been serving up popcorn.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">RPGs have been trying to simulate the chase scene for decades as well. Some systems strive for accuracy and then bog down in the details. Others have attempted to reproduce the sheer speed of a good chase scene, but somehow lose the cinematic element, as the excitement and visual impact of the chase is lost in flavourless die rolls.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">Jason Bulmahn’s <em>Mad God’s Key</em> from <a href="http://paizo.com/dungeon/products/issues/2004/v5748btpy7to0&source=search" target="_blank"><em>Dungeon</em> #114</a> had a thrilling and memorable low-level chase scene across the dockside area of the City of Greyhawk that helped make it a fan favourite. Similarly, the first volume of the <em>Curse of the</em> <em>Crimson Throne Adventure Path</em>, Nick Logue’s <a href="http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/p/paizoPublishingLLC/pathfinder/adventurePath/curseOfTheCrimsonThrone/v5748btpy81xw" target="_blank"><em>Edge of Anarchy</em></a>, featured a fast and flavourful set of chase rules developed by Paizo’s Creative Director, James Jacobs. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">The developer at Paizo who was responsible for the creation of the <em>GameMastery Chase Deck</em>, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, explains, “The chase mechanic first appeared in the <em>Curse of the Crimson Throne Adventure Path</em>, and then made its way to the <a href="http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/v5748btpy8ffn" target="_blank"><em>Pathfinder</em> <em>GameMastery Guide</em></a>. Those rules called for the GM to make cards from sticky notes or index cards. The <em>Chase Deck</em> is just the next logical step in that mechanic's evolution.”</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">Central to Jacobs’ central design in the <em>Pathfinder</em> chase rules presented in the <em>GameMastery Guide</em> was to present the challenge elements of a chase scene on separate paper or cards, laid out on a “track” on the tabletop. The miniatures of the player characters and the NPCs are placed upon the index cards and the GM narrates the scene, moving from each card to the next challenge in the chase in accordance with the choices of the players and their die rolls. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">In the system presented in the <em>GMG</em>, each obstacle posed in the chase scene presents two or more alternatives for the character to choose from in order to overcome the obstacle and move to the next card. In a classic challenge in a typical chase, the player confronts a fruit cart as the party is chasing the villain through a crowded urban market. The character can either make an acrobatics roll to jump over the fruit cart, tumble under the fruit cart (same skill check, but size and running start can have an effect on success), or perhaps make a climb check to attempt to cut off the quarry another way. The <em>Chase Deck</em> accomplishes this same thing, complete with visual art illustrating sometimes-whimsical obstacles with underlying DCs and skill choices that make sense for each obstacle.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">Radney-MacFarland’s goal with the <em>Chase Deck</em> was simple: “We wanted to create a fun, easy, and flexible tool to help GMs create evocative and dynamic chase scenes. Great art and visual aids never hurt abstract mechanics. Like the original chase mechanics, the cards split up challenges into discrete visible pieces allowing the players to focus on and understand the challenge at hand.”</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">Paizo’s <em>Chase Deck</em> presents 51 cards for GMs to use to build their chase scenes with, drawn from three “settings,” urban, forest, and dungeon. A different coloured chequered border indicates each environment type: tannish yellow for urban, green for forest and purple for dungeon.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">During play, typically a chase track of at least five cards is laid face down on the table, either by the GM selecting the cards or simply choosing them randomly by separating the cards into the appropriate environment, shuffling, and drawing. Using this method, a random chase scene can surprise even the GM in terms of how the chase scene will unfold. While an index card could still be used to accomplish this, the art used in the <em>Chase Deck</em> “just looks great on the table...much better than index cards or sticky notes scrawled with handwriting,” Radney-MacFarland says.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">After Radney-MacFarland developed the DC checks and various skills to be tested by the obstacle posed on each card, he and Jacobs went through the design to each card to “add punch” to the card and its flavour text. Radney-MacFarland admits that the art selection and the flavour of the challenges tends to the whimsical at times, conveying a flavour to the chase that will feel more like <em>Raiders of the Lost Ark</em> and less like <em>The French Connection. </em></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">The <em>Chase Deck</em> comes with rules presented on four sides on two cards, with several variant rules for each type of chase. No access to the <em>GameMastery Guide</em> or the original chase rules presented in Pathfinder<em> Adventure Path #7 Curse of the Crimson Throne Vol. 1,</em> <em>Edge of Anarchy </em>is necessary to use the <em>GameMastery</em> <em>Chase Deck</em>.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"><strong><em>Chase Deck</em></strong><strong>: The Verdict</strong></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">I found the <em>Chase Deck</em> to be an excellent, though somewhat limited tool, for building a chase scene on the fly during any game session. For the most part, the DCs presented in the <em>Chase Deck</em> are reasonable and can be made by most low to mid-level adventurers. Should the party be higher (or lower) in level, it is easy to adjust the base DCs printed on the cards by two or 3 across the board to account for the experience level of the party. Consequently, the default DCs presented by the obstacles never gets in the way of the utility of the cards at the table.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">My only real beef with the <em>Chase Deck</em> is that I found that I wanted even more options and more cards. If you were to stick to just using the 17 urban cards in a city chase scene, even when randomly selected, a GM is unlikely to present a chase scene using seven cards without a lot of repetition creeping into your various chase scenes quite quickly. I suppose that it is easy enough to hand select cards – and even to occasionally combine environmental elements together in a chase scene to get a lot more mileage out of the <em>Chase Deck</em>. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">Moreover, to be fair, chase scenes tend to be relatively uncommon in most RPG game sessions, so it is not as if you are going to exhaust all the potential combinations of cards or develop “sameness” to each of your chase scenes very quickly. For most GMs, I expect that the <em>Chase Deck</em> will provide good value for a year or more of games featuring a dozen or more highly varied chase scenes. That is probably more than enough value than can reasonably be expected from a $10-11 accessory product.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">Still, the <em>Chase Deck</em> is so cool that I find myself wanting more. If I had an entire deck for each of the three environments, I would be a happier gamer. Paizo has discussed creating more cards for expansion <em>Chase Decks</em>, but there is nothing firm on the table currently. “We started with very general areas, knowing that if the product was popular and if we did more decks in the future, we could design different or more specific areas later. Those areas either could fall in the same general category or would complement existing categories. But like all future products we keep our options open and wait to see how a product is received. If people love them and buy them up, chances are good that we will make supplementary sets,” Radney-MacFarland confirms.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"><strong>Suitable for 4th Edition D&D? Yes!</strong></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">One of the most interesting aspects of the <em>Chase Deck</em> is that its utility is not restricted to <em>Pathfinder</em> RPG. The essential system presented by the <em>Chase Deck</em> is easily transportable to 4E. All a Dungeon Master has to do is to assign different DCs appropriate to the party’s skill level, perhaps with reference to the Skill Challenge DCs presented in the <em>DMG</em> 2. The flavour and artistic flare that the <em>Chase Deck</em> imparts to the game session is 100% transportable to 4th Ed game sessions. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">Radney-MacFarland agrees. “Personally I think they can used with almost any RPG. While the numbers may not directly port over, those are some of the easiest things to change. The <em>Pathfinder</em> numbers should give you a good idea of how to scale things for your favourite game system. I've used the <em>Chase Deck</em> in other games I've run, not just <em>Pathfinder</em>.” </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="color: Orange"><strong><em>Very Useful Game Accessory:</em></strong></span> All <em>Pathfinder</em> GMs</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="color: Orange"><strong><em>Useful Game Accessory:</em></strong></span> All 3.xx and 4E <em>Dungeons and Dragons</em> DMs, and even <em>Star Wars: Saga Edition</em> GMs may find large parts of this deck to be useful.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"> If you wanted to add a chase scene to your <em>Call of Cthulhu</em> game? These can also work for you.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"><strong>GameMastery Chase Deck</strong></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"><strong>Published: 2011</strong></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"><strong>Cost: <a href="http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/p/paizoPublishingLLC/gameMastery/itemPacks/v5748btpy8g7o" target="_blank">$10.99 Paizo</a></strong></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"><strong>GameMastery Condition Cards</strong></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">[align=right][/align]</span>[align=right][/align]</span>[align=right]http://www.enworld.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=55781&d=1356545309[/align]<span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">There you are, in the middle of combat and you fail your save. The GM announces that your character has been <em>fascinated</em>. If you are like most experienced players, you tend to know the more common conditions from memory. However, the less common conditions that emerge during game play are ones that a lot of experienced players and GMs forget – or worse – can misremember. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"><em>“Fascinated, </em>what does that do again?” you ask. Sometimes, another player at the table has the answer -- and sometimes they do not. Even when the answer is known by the GM or another player, that’s no guarantee that the player who gains the condition is going to remember the mechanics of the effect when it is their next turn – or to even remember they have the <em>fascinated</em> condition, either. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">Looking up the mechanical effect of a condition during play is one of those moments in the game that just slows everything down. The GM or player (and often both) start flipping through the Core Rulebook to look up one of the <a href="http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/glossary.html#conditions" target="_blank">34 conditions</a> that the <em>Pathfinder</em> RPG can apply to characters when affected by some spell or other consequence of combat in the game. While the flipping of pages to Appendix 2 of the Core Rulebook is not terribly distracting, I hate doing it as a GM. For one, I often lose my place that I have marked in the Rulebook already, or cover up some other page in another book that I need handy. More importantly, as the page flipping occurs usually in the middle of combat, it interrupts the flow of combat around the table. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">The problem is exacerbated when playing with players who are relatively new to the game. Sure, in a year or two they will know many (if not most) of the conditions from memory – but until that time, it is a struggle in every combat for the player to keep the rules straight. Moreover, to be perfectly honest, even experienced GMs can forget the exact mechanical effect that a condition applies to a target.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">Enter the <em>Condition Cards Deck</em> from Paizo, probably the most singularly useful card deck that Paizo has ever released.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">The <em>Condition Cards Deck</em> provides 52 double-sided cards which act as a crib sheet of the rules for 26 of the most common conditions in the game that affect player characters. Now, when the player gains a condition, the GM just passes the card to the player during combat. The card immediately tells the player what the mechanical effect of the condition is – and perhaps just as importantly – serves as a reminder for both the GM and the player that the character is affected by the condition.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">Each of the cards provides an accurate summary of the mechanical rule and each depicts a whimsical illustration portraying a goblin that is suffering that condition. The best thing about the cards is that they are double-sided, so that maximum usage is made of the “real estate” provided by the card Deck. Moreover, as many conditions in <em>Pathfinder</em> RPG have a more severe but related form of the condition, the cards intuitively mirrors the same progression of condition effects. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">So, for example, on one side of a card is a summary of the <em>fatigued</em> condition and on the reverse is a summary of the <em>exhausted</em> condition. This intuitive combination on a single card is repeated for each of the following 26 conditions covered by the Deck wherever possible: <em>Dazed/Stunned; Dazzled/Fascinated; Exhausted/Fatigued; Frightened/Shaken; Nauseated/Sickened; and Paralyzed/Staggered</em> are all presented on the same cards. Other related conditions appear on the following cards in a <em>mostly</em> intuitive manner: <em>Grappled/Pinned, Bleed/ Dying, Blinded/Deafened, Confused/Entangled, Flat-Footed/Helpless, Incorporeal/Invisible, and Prone/Unconscious</em>.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">Using the 52 condition cards in the deck, the GM has four complete sets summarizing the 26 most common conditions to pass out during play. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">I agree with almost all of the conditions that Paizo has chosen to portray on the cards as the ones being the most commonly encountered during play. Six of the eight conditions not depicted on the <em>Condition Cards Deck:</em> <em>Broken, Dead, Disabled, Energy Drained, Petrified</em>, and <em>Stable</em> are generally not encountered during play or at least do not affect the player characters directly. A good argument can be made that the two remaining unrepresented conditions, <em>Cowering</em> and <em>Panicked, </em>would have been more useful to include in the deck instead of <em>Incorporeal</em> and <em>Unconscious</em>, but apart from a substitution of those two conditions for <em>Cowering</em> and <em>Panicked</em> instead, I think Paizo made the right choices. After all, how often does a player gain the <em>Incorporeal</em> condition? And who can’t accurately <strong>guess</strong> -- let alone remember -- what the <em>Unconscious</em> condition does? I wager even my grandmother would get that one right.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">The <em>Condition Cards Deck</em> also comes with one card with a new 2nd level Cleric/Witch/et al spell on it, <em>Soothing Word. </em>This new spell has the effect of lessening all of the effects of the following conditions to a condition of lesser severity on the target at the same time: nauseated> sickened, stunned>dazed, exhausted>fatigued, frightened>shaken, paralyzed>staggered. (A lesser variant form of this spell, the 0 level spell <em>Soothing Touch</em>, appears in <em>Ultimate Magic’s</em> Words of Power.)</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"><strong><em>Condition Cards Deck</em></strong><strong>: The Verdict</strong></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">I have been using the <em>Condition Cards Deck</em> during my weekly Pathfinder Society game sessions and I have been <em>extremely</em> satisfied with their utility at the table. As many Pathfinder Society players are relatively new players to the game, the utility of the <em>Condition Cards Deck</em> for use during PFS sessions is difficult to overstate. Using the <em>Condition Cards</em>, newer players know exactly what mechanical effect the condition has on their PC, less space is taken up at the table with Core Rulebooks being opened and, above all, play moves forward smoothly and the presence of the card on the table reminds me of their character’s condition. It is a wonderful accessory for use during PFS game sessions; indeed, so much so that I now consider the <em>Condition Cards Deck</em> an essential accessory for all PFS GMs. My discussions with others confirm that every PFS GM I have spoken with who has tried the <em>Condition Cards Deck</em> for PFS loves it and considers it essential gaming gear for PFS. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px">[FONT=&amp]<span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">For those engaged in home play, the GameMastery <em>Condition Cards Deck</em> is still useful for all of the same reasons, but many experienced players and GMs may find it to be of somewhat lesser utility for a plethora of reasons (more time to</span> <span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">play, more space for books on the table, more experienced players, etc.). Even still, we have started to use the cards in both our <em>Kingmaker</em> and <em>Legacy of Fire</em> sessions and all of the players – all of whom are very experienced, appreciate their usefulness.</span></span></span>[/FONT]<span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="color: Orange"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="color: Orange"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="color: Orange"><strong><em>Must Have Accessory:</em></strong> </span>Pathfinder Society GMs should buy this card deck immediately and bring it to every game session. It is simply an ideal product for use during PFS play.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="color: Orange"><strong><em>Very Useful Accessory:</em></strong></span> All Pathfinder GMs.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"> </span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"><strong>GameMastery Condition Cards Deck</strong></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"><strong>Published: 2011</strong></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><span style="font-size: 12px"><strong>Cost: <a href="http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/p/paizoPublishingLLC/gameMastery/itemPacks/v5748btpy8ddq" target="_blank">$10.99 Paizo</a></strong></span></span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Steel_Wind, post: 7647609, member: 20741"] [FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]I don’t know about you, but whenever I hear the word “card” mixed in with the term RPG in the same sentence, I immediately gain the “suspicious” condition. I’m generally extremely wary and have a default-starting attitude of [I]Unfriendly[/I] -- if not outright [I]Hostile[/I] -- to the idea of blending collectible cards with any aspect of my RPG play. That said, I am extremely interested in ALL game accessories that enhance my tabletop RPGs. Things like [URL="http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/l/litkoAerosystems/fantasy/v5748btpy8ded"]invisible character minis[/URL], [URL="http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/l/litkoAerosystems/fantasy/v5748btpy8dec"]torchbearer clip-ons[/URL] to mini bases, [URL="http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/l/litkoAerosystems/fantasy/v5748btpy8fl2"]flight stands[/URL] and the like for use with miniatures during play I consider Cool Gaming Stuff[B]™[/B]. In addition, the relatively low cost of card decks makes the purchase of these decks an inexpensive way to scratch the itch to buy something in my local FLGS. Consequently, I look at new card decks released by Paizo often – but I tend not to buy all of them. When you get right down to it, I’m damned [I]picky[/I] when it comes to the use of cards in our game sessions.[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]I have had good experiences with some of Paizo’s card decks. In particular, I generally have enjoyed card decks that introduce new options for play like the GameMastery [URL="http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/p/paizoPublishingLLC/gameMastery/itemPacks/v5748btpy8b8m"][I]Plot Twist Card Deck[/I][/URL]. Admittedly, our group’s use of the [I]Plot Twist Card Deck[/I] has been irregular, but we [I]mostly[/I] like this card deck. [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] We have embraced the [URL="http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/p/paizoPublishingLLC/gameMastery/itemPacks/v5748btpy872f"][I]Critical Hit[/I][/URL] and [URL="http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/p/paizoPublishingLLC/gameMastery/itemPacks/v5748btpy89mn"][I]Critical Fumble[/I][/URL] card decks for regular use in our weekly [I]Kingmaker[/I] and [I]Legacy of Fire[/I] games and all of the players at the table enjoy them a lot.[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]While the [I]Critical Hit[/I] and [I]Critical Fumble[/I] decks have been out for a long time, the subject of this review is two new card decks recently released by Paizo that present new options for use at the table without introducing any new rules: GameMastery [I]Condition Cards[/I] (released this past spring) and GameMastery [I]Chase Cards, [/I]released last month. [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3][B] GameMastery Chase Cards Deck[/B][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3][align=right][/align][/SIZE][align=right][/align][/FONT][align=right]http://www.enworld.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=55778&d=1356545309[/align][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]Before there was [I]Dungeons and Dragons[/I], there were chase scenes. Chases have been staples in cinemas for nearly a hundred years. Going back to [I]Birth of a Nation[/I] and more famously, [I]Stagecoach[/I], Hollywood has been serving up chases for as long as the theatre has been serving up popcorn.[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]RPGs have been trying to simulate the chase scene for decades as well. Some systems strive for accuracy and then bog down in the details. Others have attempted to reproduce the sheer speed of a good chase scene, but somehow lose the cinematic element, as the excitement and visual impact of the chase is lost in flavourless die rolls.[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]Jason Bulmahn’s [I]Mad God’s Key[/I] from [URL="http://paizo.com/dungeon/products/issues/2004/v5748btpy7to0&source=search"][I]Dungeon[/I] #114[/URL] had a thrilling and memorable low-level chase scene across the dockside area of the City of Greyhawk that helped make it a fan favourite. Similarly, the first volume of the [I]Curse of the[/I] [I]Crimson Throne Adventure Path[/I], Nick Logue’s [URL="http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/p/paizoPublishingLLC/pathfinder/adventurePath/curseOfTheCrimsonThrone/v5748btpy81xw"][I]Edge of Anarchy[/I][/URL], featured a fast and flavourful set of chase rules developed by Paizo’s Creative Director, James Jacobs. [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]The developer at Paizo who was responsible for the creation of the [I]GameMastery Chase Deck[/I], Stephen Radney-MacFarland, explains, “The chase mechanic first appeared in the [I]Curse of the Crimson Throne Adventure Path[/I], and then made its way to the [URL="http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/v5748btpy8ffn"][I]Pathfinder[/I] [I]GameMastery Guide[/I][/URL]. Those rules called for the GM to make cards from sticky notes or index cards. The [I]Chase Deck[/I] is just the next logical step in that mechanic's evolution.”[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]Central to Jacobs’ central design in the [I]Pathfinder[/I] chase rules presented in the [I]GameMastery Guide[/I] was to present the challenge elements of a chase scene on separate paper or cards, laid out on a “track” on the tabletop. The miniatures of the player characters and the NPCs are placed upon the index cards and the GM narrates the scene, moving from each card to the next challenge in the chase in accordance with the choices of the players and their die rolls. [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]In the system presented in the [I]GMG[/I], each obstacle posed in the chase scene presents two or more alternatives for the character to choose from in order to overcome the obstacle and move to the next card. In a classic challenge in a typical chase, the player confronts a fruit cart as the party is chasing the villain through a crowded urban market. The character can either make an acrobatics roll to jump over the fruit cart, tumble under the fruit cart (same skill check, but size and running start can have an effect on success), or perhaps make a climb check to attempt to cut off the quarry another way. The [I]Chase Deck[/I] accomplishes this same thing, complete with visual art illustrating sometimes-whimsical obstacles with underlying DCs and skill choices that make sense for each obstacle.[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]Radney-MacFarland’s goal with the [I]Chase Deck[/I] was simple: “We wanted to create a fun, easy, and flexible tool to help GMs create evocative and dynamic chase scenes. Great art and visual aids never hurt abstract mechanics. Like the original chase mechanics, the cards split up challenges into discrete visible pieces allowing the players to focus on and understand the challenge at hand.”[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]Paizo’s [I]Chase Deck[/I] presents 51 cards for GMs to use to build their chase scenes with, drawn from three “settings,” urban, forest, and dungeon. A different coloured chequered border indicates each environment type: tannish yellow for urban, green for forest and purple for dungeon.[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]During play, typically a chase track of at least five cards is laid face down on the table, either by the GM selecting the cards or simply choosing them randomly by separating the cards into the appropriate environment, shuffling, and drawing. Using this method, a random chase scene can surprise even the GM in terms of how the chase scene will unfold. While an index card could still be used to accomplish this, the art used in the [I]Chase Deck[/I] “just looks great on the table...much better than index cards or sticky notes scrawled with handwriting,” Radney-MacFarland says.[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]After Radney-MacFarland developed the DC checks and various skills to be tested by the obstacle posed on each card, he and Jacobs went through the design to each card to “add punch” to the card and its flavour text. Radney-MacFarland admits that the art selection and the flavour of the challenges tends to the whimsical at times, conveying a flavour to the chase that will feel more like [I]Raiders of the Lost Ark[/I] and less like [I]The French Connection. [/I][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]The [I]Chase Deck[/I] comes with rules presented on four sides on two cards, with several variant rules for each type of chase. No access to the [I]GameMastery Guide[/I] or the original chase rules presented in Pathfinder[I] Adventure Path #7 Curse of the Crimson Throne Vol. 1,[/I] [I]Edge of Anarchy [/I]is necessary to use the [I]GameMastery[/I] [I]Chase Deck[/I].[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3][B][I]Chase Deck[/I][/B][B]: The Verdict[/B][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]I found the [I]Chase Deck[/I] to be an excellent, though somewhat limited tool, for building a chase scene on the fly during any game session. For the most part, the DCs presented in the [I]Chase Deck[/I] are reasonable and can be made by most low to mid-level adventurers. Should the party be higher (or lower) in level, it is easy to adjust the base DCs printed on the cards by two or 3 across the board to account for the experience level of the party. Consequently, the default DCs presented by the obstacles never gets in the way of the utility of the cards at the table.[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]My only real beef with the [I]Chase Deck[/I] is that I found that I wanted even more options and more cards. If you were to stick to just using the 17 urban cards in a city chase scene, even when randomly selected, a GM is unlikely to present a chase scene using seven cards without a lot of repetition creeping into your various chase scenes quite quickly. I suppose that it is easy enough to hand select cards – and even to occasionally combine environmental elements together in a chase scene to get a lot more mileage out of the [I]Chase Deck[/I]. [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]Moreover, to be fair, chase scenes tend to be relatively uncommon in most RPG game sessions, so it is not as if you are going to exhaust all the potential combinations of cards or develop “sameness” to each of your chase scenes very quickly. For most GMs, I expect that the [I]Chase Deck[/I] will provide good value for a year or more of games featuring a dozen or more highly varied chase scenes. That is probably more than enough value than can reasonably be expected from a $10-11 accessory product.[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]Still, the [I]Chase Deck[/I] is so cool that I find myself wanting more. If I had an entire deck for each of the three environments, I would be a happier gamer. Paizo has discussed creating more cards for expansion [I]Chase Decks[/I], but there is nothing firm on the table currently. “We started with very general areas, knowing that if the product was popular and if we did more decks in the future, we could design different or more specific areas later. Those areas either could fall in the same general category or would complement existing categories. But like all future products we keep our options open and wait to see how a product is received. If people love them and buy them up, chances are good that we will make supplementary sets,” Radney-MacFarland confirms.[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3][B]Suitable for 4th Edition D&D? Yes![/B][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]One of the most interesting aspects of the [I]Chase Deck[/I] is that its utility is not restricted to [I]Pathfinder[/I] RPG. The essential system presented by the [I]Chase Deck[/I] is easily transportable to 4E. All a Dungeon Master has to do is to assign different DCs appropriate to the party’s skill level, perhaps with reference to the Skill Challenge DCs presented in the [I]DMG[/I] 2. The flavour and artistic flare that the [I]Chase Deck[/I] imparts to the game session is 100% transportable to 4th Ed game sessions. [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]Radney-MacFarland agrees. “Personally I think they can used with almost any RPG. While the numbers may not directly port over, those are some of the easiest things to change. The [I]Pathfinder[/I] numbers should give you a good idea of how to scale things for your favourite game system. I've used the [I]Chase Deck[/I] in other games I've run, not just [I]Pathfinder[/I].” [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3][COLOR=Orange][B][I]Very Useful Game Accessory:[/I][/B][/COLOR] All [I]Pathfinder[/I] GMs[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3][COLOR=Orange][B][I]Useful Game Accessory:[/I][/B][/COLOR] All 3.xx and 4E [I]Dungeons and Dragons[/I] DMs, and even [I]Star Wars: Saga Edition[/I] GMs may find large parts of this deck to be useful.[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] If you wanted to add a chase scene to your [I]Call of Cthulhu[/I] game? These can also work for you. [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3][B]GameMastery Chase Deck[/B][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3][B]Published: 2011[/B][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3][B]Cost: [URL="http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/p/paizoPublishingLLC/gameMastery/itemPacks/v5748btpy8g7o"]$10.99 Paizo[/URL][/B][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3][B]GameMastery Condition Cards[/B][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3][align=right][/align][/SIZE][align=right][/align][/FONT][align=right]http://www.enworld.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=55781&d=1356545309[/align][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]There you are, in the middle of combat and you fail your save. The GM announces that your character has been [I]fascinated[/I]. If you are like most experienced players, you tend to know the more common conditions from memory. However, the less common conditions that emerge during game play are ones that a lot of experienced players and GMs forget – or worse – can misremember. [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3][I]“Fascinated, [/I]what does that do again?” you ask. Sometimes, another player at the table has the answer -- and sometimes they do not. Even when the answer is known by the GM or another player, that’s no guarantee that the player who gains the condition is going to remember the mechanics of the effect when it is their next turn – or to even remember they have the [I]fascinated[/I] condition, either. [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]Looking up the mechanical effect of a condition during play is one of those moments in the game that just slows everything down. The GM or player (and often both) start flipping through the Core Rulebook to look up one of the [URL="http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/glossary.html#conditions"]34 conditions[/URL] that the [I]Pathfinder[/I] RPG can apply to characters when affected by some spell or other consequence of combat in the game. While the flipping of pages to Appendix 2 of the Core Rulebook is not terribly distracting, I hate doing it as a GM. For one, I often lose my place that I have marked in the Rulebook already, or cover up some other page in another book that I need handy. More importantly, as the page flipping occurs usually in the middle of combat, it interrupts the flow of combat around the table. [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]The problem is exacerbated when playing with players who are relatively new to the game. Sure, in a year or two they will know many (if not most) of the conditions from memory – but until that time, it is a struggle in every combat for the player to keep the rules straight. Moreover, to be perfectly honest, even experienced GMs can forget the exact mechanical effect that a condition applies to a target.[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]Enter the [I]Condition Cards Deck[/I] from Paizo, probably the most singularly useful card deck that Paizo has ever released.[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]The [I]Condition Cards Deck[/I] provides 52 double-sided cards which act as a crib sheet of the rules for 26 of the most common conditions in the game that affect player characters. Now, when the player gains a condition, the GM just passes the card to the player during combat. The card immediately tells the player what the mechanical effect of the condition is – and perhaps just as importantly – serves as a reminder for both the GM and the player that the character is affected by the condition.[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]Each of the cards provides an accurate summary of the mechanical rule and each depicts a whimsical illustration portraying a goblin that is suffering that condition. The best thing about the cards is that they are double-sided, so that maximum usage is made of the “real estate” provided by the card Deck. Moreover, as many conditions in [I]Pathfinder[/I] RPG have a more severe but related form of the condition, the cards intuitively mirrors the same progression of condition effects. [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]So, for example, on one side of a card is a summary of the [I]fatigued[/I] condition and on the reverse is a summary of the [I]exhausted[/I] condition. This intuitive combination on a single card is repeated for each of the following 26 conditions covered by the Deck wherever possible: [I]Dazed/Stunned; Dazzled/Fascinated; Exhausted/Fatigued; Frightened/Shaken; Nauseated/Sickened; and Paralyzed/Staggered[/I] are all presented on the same cards. Other related conditions appear on the following cards in a [I]mostly[/I] intuitive manner: [I]Grappled/Pinned, Bleed/ Dying, Blinded/Deafened, Confused/Entangled, Flat-Footed/Helpless, Incorporeal/Invisible, and Prone/Unconscious[/I].[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]Using the 52 condition cards in the deck, the GM has four complete sets summarizing the 26 most common conditions to pass out during play. [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]I agree with almost all of the conditions that Paizo has chosen to portray on the cards as the ones being the most commonly encountered during play. Six of the eight conditions not depicted on the [I]Condition Cards Deck:[/I] [I]Broken, Dead, Disabled, Energy Drained, Petrified[/I], and [I]Stable[/I] are generally not encountered during play or at least do not affect the player characters directly. A good argument can be made that the two remaining unrepresented conditions, [I]Cowering[/I] and [I]Panicked, [/I]would have been more useful to include in the deck instead of [I]Incorporeal[/I] and [I]Unconscious[/I], but apart from a substitution of those two conditions for [I]Cowering[/I] and [I]Panicked[/I] instead, I think Paizo made the right choices. After all, how often does a player gain the [I]Incorporeal[/I] condition? And who can’t accurately [B]guess[/B] -- let alone remember -- what the [I]Unconscious[/I] condition does? I wager even my grandmother would get that one right.[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]The [I]Condition Cards Deck[/I] also comes with one card with a new 2nd level Cleric/Witch/et al spell on it, [I]Soothing Word. [/I]This new spell has the effect of lessening all of the effects of the following conditions to a condition of lesser severity on the target at the same time: nauseated> sickened, stunned>dazed, exhausted>fatigued, frightened>shaken, paralyzed>staggered. (A lesser variant form of this spell, the 0 level spell [I]Soothing Touch[/I], appears in [I]Ultimate Magic’s[/I] Words of Power.)[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3][B][I]Condition Cards Deck[/I][/B][B]: The Verdict[/B][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]I have been using the [I]Condition Cards Deck[/I] during my weekly Pathfinder Society game sessions and I have been [I]extremely[/I] satisfied with their utility at the table. As many Pathfinder Society players are relatively new players to the game, the utility of the [I]Condition Cards Deck[/I] for use during PFS sessions is difficult to overstate. Using the [I]Condition Cards[/I], newer players know exactly what mechanical effect the condition has on their PC, less space is taken up at the table with Core Rulebooks being opened and, above all, play moves forward smoothly and the presence of the card on the table reminds me of their character’s condition. It is a wonderful accessory for use during PFS game sessions; indeed, so much so that I now consider the [I]Condition Cards Deck[/I] an essential accessory for all PFS GMs. My discussions with others confirm that every PFS GM I have spoken with who has tried the [I]Condition Cards Deck[/I] for PFS loves it and considers it essential gaming gear for PFS. [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3][FONT=&][FONT=Verdana]For those engaged in home play, the GameMastery [I]Condition Cards Deck[/I] is still useful for all of the same reasons, but many experienced players and GMs may find it to be of somewhat lesser utility for a plethora of reasons (more time to[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]play, more space for books on the table, more experienced players, etc.). Even still, we have started to use the cards in both our [I]Kingmaker[/I] and [I]Legacy of Fire[/I] sessions and all of the players – all of whom are very experienced, appreciate their usefulness.[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][SIZE=3][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][COLOR=Orange][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/COLOR][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3][COLOR=Orange][B][I]Must Have Accessory:[/I][/B] [/COLOR]Pathfinder Society GMs should buy this card deck immediately and bring it to every game session. It is simply an ideal product for use during PFS play.[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3][COLOR=Orange][B][I]Very Useful Accessory:[/I][/B][/COLOR] All Pathfinder GMs.[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3][B]GameMastery Condition Cards Deck[/B][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3][B]Published: 2011[/B][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3][B]Cost: [URL="http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/p/paizoPublishingLLC/gameMastery/itemPacks/v5748btpy8ddq"]$10.99 Paizo[/URL][/B][/SIZE][/FONT] [/QUOTE]
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PATHFINDER REVIEW: GameMastery Chase Deck & Condition Cards Deck
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